The Justice Department announced June 5, 2026, that federal agents arrested three men, Bisaam Ghafoor of Leawood, Kansas, Elias Shamsaldeen of Porterville, California, and Bereen Dzayee of Lakeside, California, on charges they conspired to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [1]. The FBI carried out the arrests simultaneously across Kansas and California [1][2].
According to the DOJ complaint, the alleged conspiracy ran from February 2025 through June 2026 [1]. During that period, the three men communicated through Discord, pledged allegiance to ISIS, and collectively transferred more than $2,000 to an individual they believed to be an ISIS operative [1]. The funds were intended to finance the purchase of drones for use in attacks on U.S. service members [1][2]. The recipient of the funds was, according to federal prosecutors, a government asset or cooperating source, a detail consistent with standard FBI undercover counterterrorism operations, though the complaint characterizes the contact only as an individual the defendants believed to be an ISIS member [1].
The charges rest on 18 U.S.C. § 2339B, the federal material support statute, which prohibits providing personnel, property, services, or financing to a designated foreign terrorist organization [1]. ISIS has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the State Department since 2004. A conviction under § 2339B carries a maximum sentence of 20 years per count, with no upper limit if the conduct results in death [2]. All three defendants face the same charge, and the cases will proceed in federal court; venue details for each defendant's proceedings were not immediately specified in the public filing [1].
The arrest reflects a pattern of FBI counterterrorism operations in which undercover operatives or confidential sources intercept domestic supporters before any operational attack occurs. The use of an online platform, a transfer of cryptocurrency or cash, and a stated military target align with the profile of prior § 2339B prosecutions. Defense counsel for the three defendants had not entered appearances as of the announcement, and initial appearances before a federal magistrate were anticipated in the days following the arrests [2].
The cases will now move through initial detention hearings, where prosecutors are likely to seek pretrial detention based on the alleged threat to U.S. military personnel. If indictments follow, a grand jury presentation would typically occur within 30 days of arrest under the Speedy Trial Act's indictment clock [1][2].